Phoenix Fighters
by Mikey Tsunami
Summary: Six heroes must band together to fight a maniacal scientist from the future.
1. Arrival

**Earth Protection Force - New York, NY, USA**

A group of men and women in suits rapidly walked down a corridor, many of them carrying weapons and equipment. They were accompanied by military personnel, who were also armed, and a man leading the group. This man also wore a suit and had sunglasses to match. His gait appeared robotic.

The group turned a corner and finally arrived at their destination: a large laboratory with machines one could only dream of. Industrial-sized robot arms could be seen at all corners of the room; monitors could be seen lined up next to each other along three of the walls, standing next to devices that produced holographic images; and large openings were found across another wall with sensors lining the gaping holes. At the center of it all was a large disk-shaped apparatus that covered about 50 percent of what was left of the floor.

"I've received word that the quantum portal has been acting sporadically," the man at the front of the group confirmed. "Do any of you know what's been causing it?"

"Absolutely no clue, Bishop," one of the scientists answered. "We've contacted Donatello to see if he knew anything about it, but according to him, it doesn't seem to be giving off any interdimensional energy."

"Then where's it coming from?"

"It appears to be coming from...Earth," the scientist said as Bishop took off his sunglasses in shock. "What should we do?"

Bishop thought about it for a bit, but before he could come to a decision, the machine at the center lit up and gave off an enormous surge of energy, pushing back everyone in the room. Emerging from the explosion were a man wearing a white hat with bear ears and a yellow bulldog.

"Woah! Where the bjork are we?" the dog spoke. Some of the agents were taken aback.

"Did that dog just...talk?"

"Must be a mutant," one of the soldiers suggested. "Should we fire?"

"Who're you callin' a mutant?" the dog retorted. He lunged forward a bit to attack the agent, but the man held him back before he could do any harm.

"C'mon, Jake!" the man responded. "Not now! We gotta get outta here!"

Just as the man started to walk away from the machine with his dog still in his arms, several agents activated their blasters and pointed them at the two, who immediately stopped in their tracks.

"Hold it right there!" Bishop commanded. "We're gonna need to take you in for questioning. Know if you're on our side." Then, seemingly out of instinct, Jake extended his front legs towards the agents, knocked some of their weapons out of their hands, and knocked the agents themselves unconscious.

"C'mon, Finn!" Jake said. "Let's get outta here quick!" He wrapped Finn in his now enlarged hands and ran off. The remaining agents lunged for whatever weapons they could reach and continued firing. All their firing was in vain, however. What was once a regular-sized bulldog with freakishly oversized hands was now the size of a house. After placing Finn on his back, Jake charged the group of agents. Those who weren't fast enough to move out of the way were immediately trampled. They were all alright, but badly hurt. Finn and Jake managed to escape the facility. Red lights blared throughout the building as an alarm rang throughout.

Bishop rushed down the halls, looking for one room in particular. He finally reached his destination, which fortunately still had someone in there.

"General! Status report on where those two are headed?"

"One of our men managed to plant tracking devices on both of them," the man responded. "It seems they're headed west. What do you want us to do, Bishop?"

"I think we need to call in some extra help," he finally decided.

"But sir, it's been a long time since we've ever called them in for a fight. Are you sure they'll be up for it?"

"Absolutely positive."

**Fenton Works - Amity Park, IL, USA**

The basement was littered with crumpled blueprints and gadgets and devices. Empty coffee cups could be found throughout the room, while the only person in the room had a full one in hand while observing some data he had on his computer screen.

"Hey, Danny!" a voice called from upstairs. A woman with a leather black skirt, a velvet purple tank top, a matching purple bow in her dark hair, and combat boots came down the stairs. "Are you still down here?" Danny turned with a jolt.

"Huh? What time is it?" Danny asked.

"It's seven in the morning," his wife, Sam, told him. "How long have you been up?"

"Really?" Danny immediately got up and started gathering some of the blueprints that remained on his desk. He then plugged a flash drive in to his computer and pressed a button on his keyboard. "Oh God, I'm gonna be late!"

"Were you up all night getting ready for the board meeting?"

"Apparently." Danny continued to gather all his things with a partially unbuttoned dress shirt and an untied necktie. "I've been spending most of my time trying to finish the exact solution I needed to prove the relationship between the ectenic force found in ectoplasm and wormholes. I've been able to replicate some of my dad's old work on the Ghost Portal to see what I could find, but the results are still unfinished. I dunno what I'm gonna tell the board of directors."

"Well, can't you just resechedule?" Sam suggested. "Ask for more time to finish the solution?"

"I could try, but we're scheduled to discuss the company's budget today, and since they plan on discussing what to cut, I really need something substantial to show them."

"Well, whatever happens, I'm here for you," Sam comforted him. As Danny finished tying his tie, he gave Sam a peck on the lips. He then grabbed his briefcase and coffee and unplugged his flash drive before heading out.

Just as Danny left the building, he saw a stampede of frightened people rushing his way before seeing what the cause of all this commotion was. At the back of the crowd was a skinny man riding a giant yellow bulldog.

"What the hell?" Danny muttered under his breath. He immediately dropped his briefcase and uttered three words he hadn't said in a long time:

"I'm going ghost!"

And just like that, two bright rings encased his body. Pretty soon, his work clothes transformed into a black and white body suit, his jet black hair turned snow white, and his baby blue eyes turned lime green. Danny immediately sprung into action.

Danny slammed his body into the large dog's and carried him away from the crowd. As he approached a building, he made himself intangible along with the man and the dog. Soon after, the three of them rammed through the walls and came out from the other side. Once they were clear of any civilians and buildings, Danny pinned the other two down on the ground.

"Alright, I don't know who you guys are, but you're sure as hell not gonna go around terrorizing my town!"

"Terrorizing?" the man questioned in a perplexed tone. "We were just trying to get back to Ooo."

"Yeah, dude," the dog added, surprising Danny as a result. "If anyone's terrorizing people, it's you."

"Woah, is it just me, or did that dog just talk?" Danny asked.

"Alright, why is everyone surprised that I can talk? Of course I can talk! Every dog can talk for Glob's sake!"

"Uh, no. Dogs can't talk."

"What? That sounds bunk."

"Okay," Danny said, still confused. "Well, I'm still gonna have to take you guys down."

As Danny lunged himself towards the two of them, the dog extended his arms upwards, hooked them to a window sill, and lifted himself up with the man still on his back. Danny stopped in his tracks and immediately followed the two.

"Oh no you don't!" Danny slowly increased his speed, and as soon as he caught up with them, he grabbed ahold of one of the dog's legs and pulled hard. He successfully managed to throw the two of them down to the ground. The impact cracked the street and shattered several windows, but fortunately, no one was hurt.

"Alright, now I'm only gonna ask this once," Danny demanded. "Who are you two and what are you doing here?"

The man climbed down from where he previously sat on the dog.

"I'm Finn, and this," he pointed to the dog, who now shrunk down to the size of a regular bulldog, "is my brother Jake."

"Right," Danny responded. For someone who has dealt with the supernatural ever since his high school years, this seemed to be the weirdest encounter he has ever faced.

"Anyway, I'm not entirely sure how we got here, but we've been looking for Princess Bubblegum."

"Princess Who-Now?"

"Princess Bubblegum. You know, the ruler of the Candy Kingdom?" Jake informed him.

"Sorry. Never heard of her."

Finn gave out a great sigh. "Aw, man. Now what're we gonna do?"

"Don't look at me," Jake answered. "I was kinda hoping we'd find Bubblegum so she could help us get back."

Danny thought about it for a moment, and then an idea immediately struck him.

"Well, I have to go to work right now, but before I go, I can drop you off at my place. Until my wife and I come back, you guys can crash there if you want," he told them as he transformed back into his human form. Finn and Jake both looked at him in shock.

"You'd seriously do that for us?" Finn asked.

"Why not? It's the least I could do for you after attacking you guys out of nowhere."

"Thanks, dude," Jake said, followed by an "Awesome!" from Finn.

**Earth Protection Force - New York, NY, USA**

Back at the EPF's laboratory, several scientists were joined once again by their leader, Bishop, and this time, they were also joined by four other people: April O'Neil, Casey Jones, Karai, and Shinigami.

"So, let me get this straight," Karai asked. "Some guy broke in here with his talking dog and just ran off?"

"Yes," Bishop replied. "That would be an accurate description of events."

"Why do you think that happened?" April asked.

"So far, we don't have any conclusive answers. We've tracked them all the way to Illinois so far, but they seem to have stopped there."

"Well, then how about we head there now?" the redhead suggested. "I'm sure the turtles could use our help dealing with whatever's going on."

"Yeah," Casey chimed in. "It's been a while since I've bashed any heads in."

"Sorry, Casey, but we don't need any more assistance than we already have."

"Oh, come on!" Casey cried. "Can't I just go there and throw one puck grenade?"

"It would be nice to actually help out," April said. "We are just as capable as the turtles are."

"The turtles are able to hold their own out there. We need you four to..."

"To do nothing while the 'true heroes' go out and fight?" April retorted, causing the other three to gasp in shock.

"Miss O'Neil, I understand your frustration," Bishop told her, "but you need to calm down."

April sighed. She didn't want to calm down. She wanted to join in on the action. It stung that she and her friends often played second fiddle to the Ninja Turtles.

"I'm sorry," she said more calmly this time, "but I just want to do more than just stand around and wait to be called."

"True as that may be--"

Before Bishop could finish his rebuttal, the machine reactivated. Everyone in the room stood back as someone seemed to materialize from this second surge of energy. Just as the sparks dissipated, a woman with robotic implants emerged with just one question: "Where is Finn Mertens?"

"Who wants to know?" Casey inquired as he grabbed his hockey stick and held it in a fighting stance. Everyone else pulled out their weapons as well, ready to fight.

"Call me Dr. Gross."


	2. Capture

**Wakeman Residence - Tremorton, PA, USA**

Jenny Wakeman landed at the front door. She immediately shut off her rocket boosters and stepped inside the house.

"Mom! I'm home!" Jenny called. There was no immediate answer, but her auditory sensors picked up a phone conversation her mother seemed to be in the middle of. Tempting as it was to listen in on any specific details, however, Jenny decided against it. She instead went to her mom's laboratory, where she knew she'd find her.

"Alright. I'll see what I can do," Nora said before hanging up.

"Who was that?" Jenny asked.

"The Earth Protection Force," Nora responded. "Apparently, they're under attack."

Jenny gave out a sigh. "And just when I thought I was done fighting crime for the day."

"Well, fortunately for you, you won't have to," Nora explained. Jenny gave her a confused look. "I'm gonna need you to stay here to monitor my movements remotely."

"Really?" Jenny asked. "Don't you think it's a safer idea to send me? Not that I'm complaining or anything. But, you've kinda gotten..." She hesitated before finishing her sentence.

"Let me guess: old?"

"I mean, you _have_ been cooped up here in the lab all these years while I've been out fighting crime," Jenny explained. "It _has_ been a while since you've been out in the field, you know."

"That's because I've always believed you would be a great hero," Nora reassured her. "But for now, I'd rather keep you out of the hands of those government goons at the EPF. They're way more aggressive in their tactics than the Skyway Patrol."

"Why? Are they more aggressive with their paperwork?" Jenny jokingly asked.

"Funny," Nora answered matter-of-factly, "but the Earth Protection Force has been known to seize technology from others for their own gain. If they ever found out what you could do, who knows what they might do to you?" Nora then rubbed her temples. "I could never forgive myself if something happened to you." Jenny then rested her right arm on her mother's shoulder.

"Mom, I..."

Just as Jenny uttered those two words, however, Nora's watch started beeping.

"I'm sorry, XJ-9. I've got to go." And just like that, Nora was on her way out the front door. Jenny stood alone in the laboratory, with nothing else to do except wait for her mother to return.

**Fenton Works - Amity Park, IL, USA**

Finn took a sip of black tea as he sat in the kitchen with Jake. The TV was on in the living room, currently switched to a news broadcast about the Fire Nation and its colonies.

"So, how long do you think it'll be before we can go back home?" Jake pondered.

"Who knows, dude?" answered Finn. "I just hope Dr. Gross doesn't find us. I'd rather not put anyone else in danger."

_"We interrupt this report to bring you breaking news. A cybernetic woman appears to be attacking EPF headquarters at this very moment,"_ the news anchor had announced from the TV set. _"Sources say it's been fighting against some of the organization's allies for quite some time now."_

"Looks like it's too late for that," Jake commented as he snuck some food from the fridge. "Looks like she found out we ran off with the Enchiridion. What do we do now?"

"Easy," Finn answered. "We kick her butt like we did last time."

"Last time, we had help from Susan," Jake brought up. "How're we gonna take down Dr. Gross without her?"

Finn thought about it for a moment, and ultimately realized he had no idea what to do.

"Oh, man," he finally responded. "This would be so much easier with Bubblegum here."

"Don't worry, man," Jake reassured him. "As long as we got each other, we'll be to defeat her." Finn cracked a light smile at the thought of that.

Immediately, there was a loud banging at the door. Both Finn and Jake jumped out of their seats, with most of Jake's food flying all over the place.

"FBI! Open up!" came one of the voices.

"FBI?" Finn whispered. "Who the bjork is that?"

"I have no idea," Jake responded in the same low voice. "Do we let 'em in?"

"What? Are you crazy? Danny and Sam told us not to let anyone in. Who knows who that might be?"

The loud banging continued. Jake shut his eyes and rubbed the sides of his head, this time formulating a plan. "Okay. How 'bout you distract 'em, and once their defenses are lowered, I'll knock 'em out," he explained, to which Finn gave a bewildered look. "What?"

As soon as Finn regained his composure, he then thought of a better idea.

"How about instead, we attack only if they attack first?"

Jake was hesitant, but after thinking it through, he eventually gave in.

"Mmm. Fine," he conceded.

"Just make sure to blend in. Act like a 'regular' dog," Finn told him. "Apparently talking dogs are weird here."

And just like that, Jake reluctantly got down on all fours.

Before they reached the door, Finn searched for the closest thing he could use as a sword. He ultimately went with an umbrella he found by the entrance.

The FBI agents continued banging against the door. "Open up!" one of them kept repeating.

Finn and Jake finally got to the front door. Before he opened the door, Finn pressed his index finger against his lips while facing Jake. They both waited a few seconds, and then...

"Hey there," Finn greeted the agents as he swung the door open. He hid the umbrella behind the door. "Is there anything I can do for you today?"

One of the agents immediately tackled him to the ground, knocking the umbrella out from his hand, while one of the others apprehended Jake, who tried to ward off his attacker, but only prompted more agents to hold him steady. Meanwhile, the guy in charge activated his earpiece and momentarily stepped away from the action.

"We have them, sir," he spoke. "We found them at the residence of Danny Fenton. Should we alert him immediately of the situation?"

"Come on, man! We didn't hurt anybody!" Jake exclaimed as he struggled against the agents.

"Yeah! Let us go!" Finn chimed in.

"Can't do that," one of the agents informed them as Finn was put in handcuffs. "We're gonna have take you two in for questioning."

"Says who?" Finn asked.

"Says me!" the agent in charge told them as he finished his phone call. He then pulled out his badge and shoved it Finn's face. Jeff Trigger, Jr., was the name on the ID. "You two are wanted for potential espionage. We need to take you in to find out what you know."

And just like that, Finn and Jake were dragged out of the house and shoved into a black hybrid sedan. They were now on their way to a whole world of trouble.

**Sweet Snacks Café - Canterlot, EQ, CAN**

_"This is Sunset Shimmer reporting to you live from the Earth Kingdom. Right now, I'm attending a referendum that will determine whether some of the Fire Nation's former colonies here should become their own independent state."_

As the news report was playing out on TV, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were sitting near the front window and having their weekly catch-up, a tradition that Pinkie came up with after she and her friends all graduated high school and went their separate ways. Right now, Rainbow was in the middle of telling Pinkie a riveting story about her soccer team.

"I'm telling you, Crystal Prep's team has gotten way better since they hired that new coach," Rainbow explained. "Now, I've gotta up my game for Canterlot High's sake."

"Well, I'll be there to cheer you guys on," Pinkie reassured her. She then proceeded to perform a cheer of her own. "Gimme a D! A! S! H! I! E! Go Dashie!" Rainbow chuckled after Pinkie finished.

"You're always there to cheer me on, Pinkie."

"Yeah, I know," Pinkie replied as she blushed. Rainbow didn't seem to pay much attention to her rosy cheeks, however.

"Anyway, what've you been up to, lately?" Rainbow inquired.

"Oh, nothing much. I actually just started my own party-planning business."

"That's awesome! How many clients have you gotten so far?"

"Well, that's actually kind of the problem," Pinkie told her as she started twirling her hair. "Right now, I don't have a lot of clients. I tried asking around for help, but Rarity's too busy with her boutiques these days, and Applejack's too busy running the farm to help me out,..."

"Uh, Pinkie," Rainbow tried to chime in.

"...and I even offered to plan Twilight and Sunset's wedding, but they said they already hired a wedding planner,..."

"Pinkie."

"So I was wondering if maybe you'd be available to help me. I mean, if you're too busy, too, I'd totally understand. You've got your soccer team, after all. I mean, I can always ask Fluttershy if she's free to--"

"Pinkie!" Rainbow yelled. "She finally managed to catch Pinkie's attention. "Of course I'll help you."

"Really? Pinkie elated. "You mean it?"

"Yeah. Whatever it is you need help with, I'll be there."

Pinkie suddenly leapt over the table and wrapped Rainbow in a tight hug. Rainbow could barely breathe.

"Pinkie," Rainbow struggled. "Too tight."

"Oh, right. Sorry," Pinkie apologized as she let go. She then continued to fiddle with her hair as she looked directly at Rainbow.

"Uh, Pinkie?" Rainbow called. "You still with me?"

Pinkie, whose attention was now focused on what the woman across from her was saying, responded.

"Oh, sorry. I was just...thinking. About us."

Rainbow looked confused a bit. Then, after realizing where Pinkie was going with this, her eyes widened as she started to blush as well. Did Pinkie really like her like that? Did she like Pinkie like that? Rainbow figured Pinkie liked everyone the same. She didn't really think Pinkie would think of anyone romantically, much less herself. Did Rainbow even feel the same way?

"What, uh...what specifically did you want to talk about? About us, I mean," she stammered.

"I was actually wondering if, maybe, you and I could go out sometime. I mean like, on a date. Maybe, we could go watch Flash and his band perform at the amphitheater tomorrow night," Pinkie suggested.

"Yeah," Rainbow responded. "Yeah. That'll be fun. Let's do it." The two of them smiled at each other.

**Yu Dao, Earth Kingdom**

"Thank you again for letting us broadcast our news report here," Sunset Shimmer told a bald monk as she helped the camera crew pack their equipment. "It truly was an honor to visit your people."

"It's an honor to have you visit," the monk replied. "We probably wouldn't have the opportunity to leave our isolationist ways behind if not for journalists like yourself."

"I still can't believe you've managed to hide all of this from the rest of the world for so long," Sunset commented. "How did you do it?"

"Well, it wasn't easy," the monk told her. "My friends and I actually had to deal with a power-mad tyrant who wanted to take over the world. Luckily, we stopped him before he could ever even reach the Spirit Wilds to get to the rest of the world."

"Well, it's a good thing you and your friends managed to stop him, then, Mr. Aang."

"Please, just call me Aang."

All of a sudden, something small seemed to dart around in the air behind the two of them. They both turned around, but saw nothing.

"Did you see that?" Sunset asked.

"I did," Aang responded. "But what was that?"

"I have no idea."

The object came around again, this time on their other side. They turned around and missed the object again. What could it possibly be? Neither of them had any idea.

Then, out of nowhere, what looked like a giant wasp with a bird's head swooped down and grabbed Sunset with its talons. Aang immediately chased after her, blowing gusts of wind in the creature's direction, but to no avail. He then planted his feet firmly into the ground and extended his right arm outward, willing columns of earth to jet out diagonally and towards the creature. Unfortunately, the creature was too far for Aang to reach. It was already long gone with Sunset still in its grasp.

**Sweet Snacks Café - Canterlot, EQ, CAN**

_"Breaking news from Yu Dao,"_ one of the news anchors announced. Everyone in the café suddenly turned their attention to the TV screen. _"We're now getting word that our own Sunset Shimmer was abducted just after her broadcast from the Earth Kingdom. So far, we have no word from any officials as to how this all happened or who her captor is."_

Pinkie and Rainbow gave each other concerned looks. Who knew what could possibly go wrong.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"You mean head to the Earth Kingdom and kick some butt to save our friend?" Pinkie confirmed. "I dunno. I mean, I've got an appointment later today. Plus, I've got a party to prepare for and--"

"Pinkie!" Rainbow interrupted.

"Hmmm? Oh, right. Sunset. Well, what're we waiting for? Let's go."

And just like that, Rainbow bridal carried Pinkie out of the café and ran as fast as she could to the Earth Kingdom.


	3. Cooperation

**Dirksen Federal Building - Chicago, IL, USA**

Finn sat alone in a holding cell, his head hanging low and his hands folded in defeat. How the hell was he supposed to get the Enchiridion back now? How was he supposed to keep it away from Dr. Gross now?

Just as all hope was lost, though, the metal bars slid open. Finn looked up and saw the officer standing in front of him.

"You're free to go," the officer told him. "Bail's been paid."

Finn's face suddenly lit up. "Really? By who?"

"Surprisingly, by the man whose house we found you in," the officer told him. "Danny Fenton."

**South Dearborn Street - Chicago, IL, USA**

Finn slowly limped out of the building and saw a Prius parked out front with Danny standing right beside it.

"You mind telling me why I was arrested today?" Finn asked furiously. "Where did they take Jake and my stuff?"

Jake then stuck his head out an open window and waved his stretched out arm. "It's okay, Finn! Danny bailed me out of dog jail!" he called.

"I don't know why he calls the pound that," Danny muttered to himself, "but I was just about to ask you the same thing," Danny told Finn. "Well, about why they arrested you, not about where they took Jake." Then Danny realized he was rambling. "Anyway, why were you arrested today? The news said that you two were arrested for espionage. You're lucky I already got off of work to bail you guys out."

"Well, I don't know what they're talking about, but I swear we weren't trying to spy on anyone," Finn explained. "Jake and I were trying to get away from this crazy lady from the future and wound up here in the past."

"Future? You guys time traveled from the future?" Finn nodded his head as if the answer was obvious, to which Danny responded, "No way! Well, how're you guys gonna get back?"

"Same way we got here in the first place," Finn explained. "With the Enchiridion."

"So, once you guys take down this Dr. Weird--"

"Dr. Gross," Finn corrected.

"Right. That's what I said. Once you guys defeat Dr. Gross, you and your dog will just head back to the future?"

"Pretty much," Finn told Danny. "We just need to get Jake and find Dr. Gross."

"Well, that shouldn't be too hard, should it?"

**Earth Protection Force - New York, NY, USA**

April, Casey, Karai, and Shinigami were all visibly exhausted from fighting Dr. Gross for so long. The blasts from Bishop's laser gun constantly missed, while April and her friends tried constantly to strike Dr. Gross down with one of their weapons, but to no avail. April especially seemed to be out of it mentally, having exerted her telekinetic powers to levitate her tessen around for so long as she lunged towards Dr. Gross with her tantō. Dr. Gross, meanwhile, dodged every single attack with ease, mostly due to her limb extensions.

"Aw, man. Who knew defeating this Dr. Psycho chick would be this hard?" Casey asked rhetorically.

"I told you already, it's Dr. Gross!"

"Whatever." Casey continued to skate along and hit his puck grenades in Dr. Gross' general direction. One of them managed to hit the cybernetic scientist and blow up in her face. As she recoiled, everyone else surrounded and closed in on her.

"Dr. Henrietta Gross, you are under arrest for trespassing on government property and attacking government agents," Bishop said as he and the others got closer. Dr. Gross retracted her limb extensions and put her arms up in the air. Just as the group had her trapped in a tight space, however, a bright light materialized from the palms of her hands. Everyone else in the room immediately ducked for cover.

"Not today, suckers!" Dr. Gross exclaimed as she got back up and ran for the door. Just as she reached the doorway, though, she froze in her tracks. Her whole body seemed to be locked in place. She struggled to move forward, but just couldn't bring herself to do so. "Why can't I move?" she muttered to herself.

The answer was standing right behind her. April had her arm extended outward, mentally exerting herself to keep Dr. Gross' limbs frozen. All of a sudden, April contorted some of her fingers, willing Dr. Gross to turn around and walk back towards the group.

"You're not going anywhere, Dr. Gross!" April commanded. "Not until we get answers!"

Dr. Gross started laughing to herself. "Do you really think I'm gonna tell you guys shit? I didn't come all the way from the future to be stopped now."

Everyone looked at each other in confusion.

"Future? No way," Karai doubted. "If you're from the future, then I'm from Kansas."

"Funny," Dr. Gross remarked. "I like this one."

"Cut the crap, Gross! Tell us what you're doing here or else!"

A few ceiling lights blew out after April's outburst.

"Damn, Red," Casey commented. "Are you okay?"

"Of course I am," April responded aggressively. "What makes you think I'm not okay?"

"Maybe because you've been a little bit mouthy lately," Karai commented. "I know I'm usually not one to discourage it, but I think you might wanna sit this one out."

April gave Karai an upset look. "Why, though? I can get Dr. Gross to talk!"

"It's not about getting her to talk. This is about you overstepping your bounds and pushing your luck."

"I am not!"

"Oh yeah? Then where's Dr. Gross?"

April then looked back and was shocked to see that Dr. Gross was suddenly gone.

"What the hell?" she whispered to herself.

"So much for getting her to talk," Karai commented. She and everyone except April left the room to go after Dr. Gross. April, meanwhile, stayed behind, her head hanging low. She then threw her fists in the air in frustration, yelling obscenities before leaving the room to join her friends in their search for the escaped scientist.

**First Avenue - New York, NY, USA**

Dr. Gross ran out of the building as quickly as she could. A wide grin was clearly visible on her face.

"Haha! Yes!" she cheered as she got farther from the building. Just as she made it to the curb, however, she was immediately blasted out of nowhere. The cause of the attack: Nora Wakeman.

"I'm guessing you're the threat to EPF's security?" Nora asked rhetorically. Soon enough, Bishop, Casey, Karai, and Shinigami all rushed out, ready to fight. Little did they know that the situation was already taken care of.

"Mrs. Wakeman," Bishop greeted. "Nice to see you received our distress signal."

"Don't flatter yourself, Director. I'm only here because I don't want any of you getting your hands on my robot."

"Another robot?" Casey sighed. "How many are there?"

"Not enough...for my purposes," Dr. Gross groaned, still half unconscious from the blast from earlier, "but...I think...I think I'll make do."

Just as April joined the group, Dr. Gross managed to press a button on her right arm. All of a sudden, what seemed to be a giant rat burst through a nearby manhole. It charged towards Nora and Bishop, who suddenly found themselves wrapped by the rat's tail. Dr. Gross then hopped onto the giant rodent's back and ran off with the two of them. April and Karai ran after them, but to no avail.

**Wakeman Residence - Tremorton, PA, USA**

Jenny sat in her mother's lab, completely bored. As relieved as she was to take a break from crime-fighting every once in a while, she was often reminded of how boring things got with all this time on her hands. This was one of those moments where she was reminded of that.

And as if her prayers were answered, a flashing light suddenly came from the computer monitor.

"The distress alarm?" Jenny spoke to herself. "That can't be good."

She opened the alert, disabling the alarm. She was shocked to find out that the distress call was from her mother.

"Oh no! Mom's in trouble! I gotta go!"

She activated her rocket boosters and took off, determined as ever to save her mom.

**Earth Protection Force - New York, NY, USA**

The sun had set hours ago, but April, Casey, Karai, and Shinigami were all still at EPF headquarters, all looking defeated from their battle with Dr. Gross.

"So, what do we do now?" Casey asked. "Some giant rat's got Bishop, the Turtles are in Illinois probably kicking butt right now, and we have no idea how to help."

All of a sudden, one of the monitors picked up something on the security feed. April and Karai took a quick look. What they saw surprised them both. Two men and a dog were initially seen on-screen, and a moment later, it's as if they vanished.

"Woah! Did you see that?" Karai cried. "Where'd they go?"

"I have no idea," April responded as she pulled out her tessen and tantō, "but I'm certainly not waiting to find out."

Before April could even leave the room, Karai placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Karai asked. "You seemed pretty steamed when we fought Dr. Gross. I just don't want the same thing happening this time."

April sighed. "Fine," she ultimately conceded. "I'll just sit in the sidelines as usual."

"Alright then," Karai said, watching as April walked back to one of the computers. "Casey, you're coming with me."

"Nice!" Casey exclaimed as he and Karai left the room. Meanwhile, April slouched in one of the chairs.

"Well, at least you get to take a break from the fighting you did take part in," Shinigami commented.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

Shini thought about it for a moment, then continued. "Look. I understand you want to help out as much as you can, but you shouldn't do so at the expense of your common sense," she explained.

"I know," April confessed, "but it still hurts that I don't get to do some of the bigger stuff like the turtles do. Don't get me wrong, it's great fighting alongside you guys, but it just kinda feels like we're always sidelined. It feels like I'm always sidelined."

"Well, I'm sure you'll eventually get to do something," Shini told her. "Life always seems to find a way to work things out."

Moments later, Karai and Casey came back with the two guys held tightly in their arms and the dog hanging from Karai's forearm as if he were melting.

"Looks like catching these guys was easier than we thought," Karai commented. "Now, let's find out where their friend took Bishop."

"I swear, we don't want any trouble," Finn told them. "Jake and I just wanna get back to the future."

"Then why did that Dr. Weird chick run off with our friend?" Casey asked.

_Dr. Weird?_ Finn thought. Then it occurred to him.

"Hold on. Dr. Gross ran off with someone?" His free hand then smacked his forehead in frustration. "Oh no! Who knows how far she's gotten by now?"

"So you _do_ know her?"

"Yes, but not in the way you think," Finn tried to explain. Before he could continue, however, the quartet took out their weapons and pointed them at the three captives. "Woah!"

Jake then inflated himself and managed to escape Karai's grip. Likewise, Danny's arm seemed to just disappear and slip right through Casey's grip.

"What the...?" Casey exclaimed.

"Now listen," Danny started. "I'm sure it's been a long day for all of us. We're looking for some deranged scientist that you guys apparently fought today. But we can all just work together to find her, we can all get out of each other's hair sooner."

"So you're not working with Dr. Gross?" April inquired.

"Of course not!" Finn told everyone. "We were just trying to get the Enchiridion away from her."

"The what?"

Finn pulled a large leather-bound book out from his backpack.

"This," Finn explained. "It's one of the most powerful items from my time, and Dr. Gross is trying to get her hands on it to try and turn all life into cyborgs."

"And now she's followed you here from--I'm sorry. Did you say 'your time'?"

"Yeah. Finn and I are from the future," Jake said.

"Well, that would explain why the portal was acting up this morning," April theorized. "So now, we've just gotta help you find Dr. Gross in order to get back our director."

"And my mom," came a voice from the P.A. system. The alarms suddenly went off.

"Again with the break-in?" Casey cried.

"Uh, technically, we didn't break in," Danny explained. "We intentionally got captured so you could let us in and hear us out."

"Whatever!"

Before anyone could react to the break-in, however, the alarms suddenly shut themselves off. Everyone currently in the room was visibly confused. Just then, a white and blue gynoid came jetting into the room. Everyone then readied their weapons, with Danny transforming into a ghost and Jake transforming his hands into maces.

"Hold on! I'm not here to attack!" the robot said.

"Then why are you here?" April asked. "And just who are you anyway?"

"The name's XJ-9, but you can call me Jenny."


	4. Encounter

**Pacific Ocean**

The group all sat quietly in one of the EPF's jets while Danny and Jenny flew alongside them.

"So, you're telling me that your home is somewhere on one of these islands?" April asked.

"It should be," Finn answered. "Dr. Gross will probably want to head to Founders Island to hold your friends hostage. It should be somewhere here."

Jenny's pigtail-like satellites suddenly picked up a news feed that troubled her.

"Guys," Jenny spoke up. She managed to hack into the jet's audio system to get the passengers' attention. "One of Dr. Gross' experiments managed to kidnap someone else. She was apparently a news reporter doing a story in the Earth Kingdom."

"Well, where's that?" asked a shrunken down Jake, who was hiding on the dashboard.

"Its entrances are actually hidden throughout the Pacific Ocean," Danny explained. "Maybe this Founders Island of yours might be one of those entrances."

"That should be easy enough, right?" Finn asked. "We just go in, capture Dr. Gross and save whoever she captured and we'll be on our way."

"And since there are eight of us this time, we should have a better chance at taking her down," Jake said.

"Not exactly," April chimed in. "Even if we find exactly where this entrance to the Earth Kingdom is, we need to be able to open up some sort of spiritual portals. It doesn't exactly sound like a cakewalk."

"Well, we do have a spirit with us this moment," Shini brought up. "And we've got your telepathic abilities, so maybe it won't be so difficult."

"Yeah, I guess," April responded. "I dunno, though. It's gonna take a lot of energy and concentration for us to open the portal. Are you up for it, Danny?"

"I can try," Danny thought. "I brought a portable device that can open up portals to another dimension. If I can modify it to give us access to the Earth Kingdom, we should be good to go."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Jenny chimed in. Everyone else seemed to agree.

"So then it's settled," Danny said. "As soon as we touch down somewhere, I'll get started on the portal."

And so the group continued in their search for an entrance to the Earth Kingdom.

**Polynesian Island - Pacific Ocean**

Rainbow darted across the vast expanse of water with Pinkie in her arms. Though the extra weight slowed Rainbow down a bit, the two were able to make it to a small island seemingly in the middle of nowhere in just under an hour and a half. As soon as they got to their destination, Rainbow immediately set Pinkie down.

"Alright. So, now what?" Rainbow asked. "There's supposed to be some sort of civilization around here, isn't there?" She then circled the entire island while Pinkie, at a loss for where to look, just stood there. "I got nothing," Rainbow informed Pinkie. "You?"

"Doesn't seem to be any portal here," Pinkie told her as she looked under a nearby rock.

Rainbow then let out a big sigh. "Well, I guess we'll have keep searching every other nearby island."

Before the two of them left the island, however, a jet flew overhead and landed close to the shore. It's side featured six hexagons bordering each other in a ring shape. Rainbow and Pinkie, both confused, approached the aircraft. The two of them stood silently in front of the door before it opened up, revealing five people, with a small dog suddenly growing in size from one of the people's hand. A robot then landed beside the group, with a ghost-like individual following suit and transforming into a regular man in a white button-up shirt with a red band collar.

"Who the bjork are you two?" one of the group members asked. This one wore a white bear hat, a vivid blue shirt, and a green

"I'm Pinkie Pie," the pink woman spoke. She then pointed to Rainbow. "And this is my girlfriend, Rainbow Dash."

"Uh, hi," Rainbow responded as she awkwardly waved at the passengers. "And just who the heck are you guys?"

"I'm Danny Fenton," announced the man in the white button-down shirt." Everyone else introduced themselves accordingly. The man in the white bear hat introduced himself as Finn Mertens, while his dog introduced himself as Jake.

"Cool! Another talking dog!" Pinkie interrupted.

"Another one?" Danny faltered.

"Yeah, one of our friends has a talking dog after he was exposed to magic," Pinkie explained in a matter-of-fact manner.

Still confused by the explanation, Danny's group continued. The redhead in a black jumpsuit introduced herself as April O'Neil, and her friends introduced themselves as Casey Jones, Karai, and Shinigami. Finally, the white and blue gynoid introduced herself as Jenny Wakeman.

"Okay," Rainbow responded. "Now that we got that out of the way, would any of you happen to know how to get to the Earth Kingdom? Our friend was kidnapped and we're trying to go save her."

"That's actually what we're here for," the man in the button-down shirt answered. He then pulled a device out from his pocket. "This device is able to open portals to an entire world full of ghosts. If I can modify it to open up one of those spiritual portals to the Earth Kingdom, my friend and I"--he pointed to April--"might be able to draw up enough energy to get us there."

"Alright," Rainbow commented. "That shouldn't be too hard."

"Not exactly," Danny continued. "This could take a lot of energy out of us. Who knows how long we'd even be able to keep it open?"

"Well, then we'll just have to be quick about it," Rainbow commented. Danny gave her a skeptical look. "Okay, _I'll_ be quick about it," Rainbow then clarified.

"If you're thinking of going alone, you're out of your damn mind," Danny told her. "You'll need help facing whatever we find on the other side of that portal."

"Sorry, but I don't have time for you guys to keep up."

"Our friends were kidnapped, too," Danny told them. "So trust me when I say you're gonna need our help."

Rainbow's eyes slightly widened. _There were more people kidnapped?_ she thought to herself.

"Fine," Rainbow conceded. "We'll follow your lead."

"Alright," Danny said. He then pried open the device, revealing a small container filled with green fluid. "Let's see if I can rewire this to give us access to the Earth Kingdom."

"Do you always carry that thing with you?" Rainbow inquired. "No offense, but it kinda seems ridiculous that you'd just carry that with you in your pocket all the time."

"Well, believe it or not, I'm actually a ghost hunter," Danny explained. "This device usually opens up a portal to an entire dimension full of ghosts, and since I'm not always home to send ghosts back through the portal I have there, it's more convenient for me to send them back immediately with this." Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie both looked dumbfounded after that explanation.

"That's...cool. I think," Pinkie faltered, still confused as to what Danny was trying to say.

"Dude, we've dealt with magic before, but all that just sounds ridiculous," Rainbow said.

"Wait a minute. You're _the_ Fenton? From Fenton Works?" Pinkie asked.

"Technically, my parents are," Danny corrected. "But yeah. They eventually passed the company down to me and ever since then, I've been trying turn their technology into something useful to society."

And then it hit Pinkie.

"No way!" she gasped. "So it's your hot dog grill cooker machine I've been using!" Everyone else looked at her in confusion. "What? I may not know much about his ghost-hunting stuff, but I can sure as hell find a good deal on kitchen appliances."

"Anyway," Danny continued, "I was thinking that if I could rework this device to pick up on the spiritual energy that the Earth Kingdom's portals run on, we'd be able to save our friends and capture their, well, captor."

"And I can use my powers to amplify that energy and keep the portal open long enough for us to get in and get out," April chimed in.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Rainbow said. "What do you want the rest of us to?"

"Well, we're gonna need a plan of attack when we get there," Danny explained. "What can you guys do?"

"I've got super speed and Pinkie can make sweets explode."

"And I thought _my_ powers were weird," Danny commented. "Anyway, your speed and your...explosive sweets...might be able to help us. Do you think you can help April and her ninja friends get our friends in and out of there quickly?"

"Do cupcakes make great tools for learning chemistry?" Danny and Rainbow gave Pinkie a confused look. "Yes," she abruptly answered as she suddenly pulled a cupcake from her own hair. "The answer is yes."

"Okay. So, you guys will be on search and rescue. Meanwhile, the rest of us will apprehend Dr. Gross herself and any of her tech."

"Woah. When did you become an expert on military junk?" Rainbow asked.

"It's not the first time I've had to think of a strategy to save someone," Danny affirmed. "Besides, it doesn't hurt that I've watched loads of _Power Pals_ growing up."

Suddenly, a green light started flashing on Danny's device.

_"Over ten new ghost portals have been discovered,"_ the device's virtual assistant informed. It then proceeded to list off the newly discovered locations, one of them being the Earth Kingdom.

"Pfft. I probably could've done that," Jenny commented.

April then closed her eyes shut and extended her right arm, seemingly searching for something. She then stopped in her tracks.

"I think I sense something," she told everyone. "There seems to be some sort of rift into the spiritual realm."

"Okay, maybe not that," Jenny conceded.

Danny then pointed his device in the general direction of where April was gesturing. All of a sudden, a green ooze-like substance appeared. It swirled in mid-air, looking to be unstable. April now focused her mental energy on fighting this instability and keeping the portal open.

"Thanks, April," Danny acknowledged. "Alright. Everybody through the portal, quick!"

And just like that, Rainbow, Jenny, and Finn leapt through the portal. Unfortunately, however, April's strength started to wane, as the portal itself started to flicker.

"Hurry up, guys!" April yelled as she struggled to keep the portal open for much longer. "I don't know how much longer I can hold this!"

Not before long, though, April couldn't take anymore and collapsed to the ground. The portal then reversed its rotation and began to close.

"Oh, no you don't!" April exclaimed before lunging towards the portal. And before she knew it, she was on the other side of that portal.

**Spirit World**

As soon as April collapsed to the ground, Finn and Rainbow rushed in to help her back up.

"Are you alright?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, I think so," April responded as she regained her composure. "Did everyone get here?"

_"Where'd it go?"_ came a familiar voice. The quintet turned around to find their remaining friends just standing there, with Pinkie Pie looking especially worried. _"Where'd the portal go?"_ Pinkie continued. Rainbow approached Pinkie, but as soon as she reached out to her, her arm completely passed through Pinkie's body.

"What the?" Rainbow muttered to herself. "Uh, Pinkie?" She continued in vein to tap Pinkie's shoulder. "Why can't I touch her?"

"Huh. That's weird," Danny commented. "I've never been able to see the real world from the Ghost Zone."

"Ghost Zone?" Rainbow suddenly turned around and looked at Danny with a mix of confusion and frustration. "What do you mean Ghost Zone? Are you saying we're dead?"

"What? No! We're still alive," Danny clarified, "but it's still weird that we're seeing the real world from here. That's not supposed to happen."

"Then how come we can see the real world this time?" April asked.

"And how come no one else can see us?" Rainbow asked, still worried about Pinkie.

"I'm still trying to work that out."

All of a sudden, a strange figure darted past their eyes.

"Uh, did anyone else see that?" Danny asked everyone. The same figure immediately dashed by again.

"I think so," Jenny answered.

"Me too," April chimed in. She then clutched her tessen in preparation for whatever was coming. Finn, Rainbow, and Jenny had also gotten into combative stances, while Danny transformed and activated his ecto-energy. This was all in vain, however, when the elusive figure snuck up behind April and captured him. One by one, the group members were picked off, until it was just Finn left.

"Aww, man," Finn shuddered as he looked around for any attack. Sweat ran down his forehead as he constantly spun around, looking for who could possibly be attacking him and others. He flailed his sword the moment he saw something move from the corner of his eye. Fortunately for him, it was just Jake and everyone else he left behind on the island.

That didn't lower his guard, though. He kept searching for a sign of someone coming after him. Now and then, he kept flailing his sword, hoping to strike the attacker down.

And just like that, the elusive figure had come up from behind and grabbed Finn. His luck had run out.


End file.
